Queen Nefertiti: wife to the pharaoh Akhenaten, co-founder of a revolution in Ancient Egypt's religion, suspected stepmother to Tutankhamun, and also had possibly reigned as the pharaohness Neferneferuaten herself. Despite being such an influential and well-documented figure in ancient Egypt, the nature of the death of Queen Nefertiti, and the location of her tomb, has remained a mystery.

However, that mystery may soon be solved, if the suspicions of Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves prove to be correct. Recently, utilizing high-resolution 3D scans made by Madrid-based conservation group Factum Arte, Reeves discovered inconsistencies in the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb that suggested that there may be hidden passages beyond the famous king's mausoleum.

Along with Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty, Reeves is currently planning to conduct penetrating radar and thermal scans within the next few months of Tut's tomb, of which was thought to have given up all of it's secrets ninety-three years ago. From his previous findings, Reeves suspects that there are two undiscovered chambers to be found there.

British archaeologist Nigel Hetherington, highlights the potential importance of the find: “The pharaohs were masters of deception. They didn’t need laser lights and razor wire, they could design a tomb which would appear to finish naturally, but then continue. To discover a royal burial, now, and, in the Valley of the Kings would be phenomenal.”

As wife to Akhenaten, Nefertiti would have been considered a revolutionary by the priesthoods of the established gods, and an extraordinary effort might well have been made to conceal her tomb, as Egyptian believe was that a soul without a mummy was left to wander after death. This may also be why Tut's tomb was so well hidden that it remain undiscovered until modern times.

Neferneferuaten NefertitiNfr nfrw itn Nfr.t jy.tjBeautiful are the Beauties of Aten, the Beautiful one has come

Discovered in 2012, a Regnal Year 16, month 3 of Akhet, day 15 inscription, dated explicitly to Akhenaten's reign, mentions the presence of the "Great Royal Wife, His Beloved, Mistress of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti",,, "...The importance of the inscription from Dayr Abū Ḥinnis lies in the first part of the text. This inscription offers incontrovertible evidence that both Akhenaten and Nefertiti were still alive in the 16th year of his (ie. Akhenaten's) reign and, more importantly, that they were still holding the same positions as at the start of their reign. This makes it necessary to rethink the final years of the Amarna Period."

This means that Nefertiti was alive in the second to last year of Akhenaten's reign, (this pharaoh's final year was his Year 17) and demonstrates that Akhenaten still ruled alone, with his wife by his side. Therefore, the rule of the female Amarna pharaoh known as Neferneferuaten must be placed between the death of Akhenaten and the accession of Tutankhamun. This female pharaoh used the epithet 'Effective for her husband' in one of her cartouches, which means she was either Nefertiti or her daughter Meritaten (who was married to king Smenkhkare).

Akhenaten was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned about 3,500 years ago. He made some major, but rather short-lived changes to various aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, the most notable one being his religious revolution. Akhenaten also made major changes in the ancient Egyptian art style, and presented himself in a very different manner from any of his predecessors.

Akhenaten ruled in the eighteenth dynasty, which seemed to be an age of revolution in ancient Egypt. Only a few reigns before his had been the reign of Hatshepsut, the most famous (but not the only) female pharaoh.

Akhenaten's strange appearance and mysterious behavior, as well as his connection with Nefertiti and with the ill-fated "boy king" Tutankhamen, have made him the subject of much passion and controversy in the last century or so. Akhenaten is all things to all people--to some he was a fanatical lunatic, to some he comes across as a strange, eccentric young man whose behavior was strongly influenced by his mother, to others he was a Christ-like visionary and a mentor of Moses, and to still others he was simply someone who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and who really had nothing to do with the dramatic reformations that went on during his reign.

Akhenaten had an extensive family, which was well represented in the art from his reign. His parents were Amenhotep III and Tiye. Akhenaten's name was originally Amenhotep IV, which he changed later. Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti, who is now famous because of the beautiful bust of her found at Amarna. Nefertiti's origins are uncertain. Some historians believe that she was a foreign princess, but there is some evidence to suggest that she was a relative of Akhenaten.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti had six daughters, named Merytaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, and Sotepenre. Meketaten died when she was about eleven of unknown causes, and Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, and Sotepenre followed shortly afterwards. They were probably victims of a plague that was running rampant in Egypt at the time.

There were two mystery figures in Akhenaten's family--Smenkhkare (Akhenaten's co-regent and successor), and Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamen). These two were almost certainly brothers--this was basically confirmed by the discovery of Smenkhkare's body in tomb 55--but their relation to Akhenaten is unknown. Maybe they were brothers of Akhenaten as well, or cousins.

The nature of Akhenaten's revolution is well established--he overthrew Egyptian polytheism in favor of the worship of a single god, Aten--but the reason behind it is still unknown. Many people have offered theories.

When historians first began to study Akhenaten carefully, in the late 1800s, the first thing that naturally came to everyone's mind was that Akhenaten was divinely inspired. However, it does not seem likely that Akhenaten simply decided out of the blue to make such a major change. Many early historians, determined to link Akhenaten's religion somehow to the Jewish religion, said that he was inspired by Joseph or Moses (Redford, p. 4, 1984). This is a possibility, considering that Joseph, at least, was around in roughly the same time period as Akhenaten. However, after close examination of Akhenaten's religion, this hypothesis seems unlikely. Akhenaten's religion did center on one god, but his major emphasis was on the Aten's visibility, tangibility, and undeniable realness. Akhenaten placed no emphasis, therefore, on faith.

According to John Tuthill, a professor at the University of Guam, Akhenaten's reasons for his religious reform were political. By the time of Akhenaten's reign, the god Amen had risen to such a high status that the priests of Amen had become even more wealthy and powerful than the pharaohs. However, Barbara Mertz argued that Akhenaten and his courtiers would not have easily perceived this (Mertz, 1966, p. 269). Still, this theory remains as a possibility to be considered.

It may be that Akhenaten was influenced by his family members, particularly his wife or mother (Dunham, 1963, p. 4; Mertz, 1966, p. 269). There was a certain trend in Akhenaten's family towards sun-worship. Towards the end of the reign of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, the Aten was depicted increasingly often.

Some historians have suggested that the same religious revolution would have happened even if Akhenaten had never become pharaoh at all. However, considering the violent reaction that followed shortly after Akhenaten's untimely death, this seems improbable.

The reasons for Akhenaten's revolution still remain a mystery. Until further evidence can be uncovered, it will be impossible to know just what motivated his unusual behavior.

Amenhotep IV was crowned in Thebes and there he started a building program. He decorated the southern entrance to the precincts of the temple of Amun-Re with scenes of himself worshipping Re-Harakhti. He soon decreed the construction of a temple dedicated to the Aten at the Eastern Karnak. This Temple of Amenhotep IV was called the Gempaaten (“The Aten is found in the estate of the Aten”). The Gempaaten consisted of a series of buildings, including a palace and a structure called the Hwt Benben (named after the Benben stone) which was dedicated to Queen Nefertiti. Other Aten temples constructed at Karnak during this time include the Rud-menu and the Teni-menu which may have been constructed near the Ninth Pylon. During this time he did not repress the worship of Amun, and the High Priest of Amun was still active in the fourth year of his reign. The king appears as Amenhotep IV in the tombs of some of the nobles in Thebes: Kheruef (TT192), Ramose (TT55) and the tomb of Parennefer (TT188).

In the tomb of Ramose, Amenhotep IV appears on the west wall in the traditional style, seated on a throne with Ramose appearing before the king. On the other side of the doorway Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are shown in the window of appearance with the Aten depicted as the sun disc. In the Theban tomb of Parennefer, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are seated on a throne with the sun disk depicted over the king and queen.

One of the last known documents referring to Amenhotep IV are two copies of a letter from the Steward Of Memphis Apy (or Ipy) to the Pharaoh. The documents were found in Gurob and are dated to regnal year 5, third month of the Growing Season, day 19.

On day 13, Month 8, in the fifth year of his reign, the king arrived at the site of the new city Akhetaten (now known as Amarna). A month before that Amenhotep IV had officially changed his name to Akhenaten. Amenhotep IV changed most of his 5 fold titulary in year 5 of his reign. The only name he kept was his prenomen or throne name.